NORTH WEST husband and wife TV duo Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan have been handed a contract extension that will see their daytime show continue for at least another 18 months.

And hints have been dropped by Channel 4 that the show could continue into 2005, despite initially suffering from lacklustre ratings in their teatime slot.

“We are obviously delighted that Richard and Judy have agreed to this extension, which indicates the faith that they, Channel 4 and Cactus have all shown in the programme,” said Channel 4 director of television, Tim Gardam.

Madeley admitted the move to the post-Countdown slot on Channel 4 had been “the hardest thing we’ve ever done” but said it was “great” that the network had acknowledged the current ratings success of the series.

The show was routinely beaten in the ratings by BBC shows such as Neighbours and The Weakest Link, but has since generated ratings of more than 2m viewers for the 5pm time slot.